A Lesson To Be Learned
by eskarina1
Summary: Shohoku got in the Inter-High championships. Sakuragi is on the second day of his special 20,000 jumpshot training. Then a friend returns into the fold after a long absence. What havoc would this friend wreak upon the already chaotic world of SD?
1. Back Again

_Writing this is kind of hard to do since the SD that I watched was the locally translated version of it. There are nuances that I would not be able to translate and others may be entirely different from the original Japanese or even the English translation. So bear with me and consider yourselves warned._

_The story takes place after Shohoku qualified for the Inter-High competition by beating Ryonan. The team was away on a joint practice game in another district. Sakuragi was left in Shohoku to work on his own training with Coach Hansai. He wasn't totally alone, though. His gang of sidekicks, together with Haruko, were helping him and cheering him on all the time. And now, a friend returns into the fold after a long absence. What havoc would this friend wreak upon the already chaotic world of SD?  _

_BTW, **the drill: I don't own Slam Dunk or any of its characters, they are the products of Takehiko Inoue's creative mind…I will find me a corner now and bawl my eyes out.**_

====================

**BACK AGAIN**

"So…this is what you've been up to all this time. And you were *just* too busy to visit a sick friend, weren't you?"  Lazing about by the gym doors was a girl who dressed and looked like a regular freshman except for her elaborate hairstyle. Her short hair was tied in several little ponytails, sticking out in different directions. This may be common in rave parties or as street wear but to wear it in school…

Hanamichi, who was about to do a jump shot, faltered and nearly fell flat on his face. He quickly recovered and turned around to face the newcomer. "Keiko???..." 

Everybody else was now looking towards the gym doors--expressions of surprise were etched on the faces of the Sakuragi's four sidekicks; Coach Hansai sported his usual facade of non-reaction; and Haruko's surprise was tinged with puzzlement as well. "Who is this girl? A friend of Sakuragi?," she thought to herself.

"Ha! At least you still remember my name, you ungrateful numbskull!" At this, she crossed to where Sakuragi was and attacked him by repeatedly kicking him on the leg." [Poof! they turn into chibi-Sakuragi and chibi-Keiko, this goes on for a minute or so]. "I was gone for five months and my friends didn't even come to visit and see what the hell happened to me. Noooooooooo, they just conveniently forgot about their cute little friend Keiko [flashes dagger looks at the other guys and they visibly cringe on cue] like she was last year's newspaper."

By now she had Sakuragi in a painful armlock around his neck and he was turning blue for lack of air. He was flailing about unable to do anything which was surprising since he was being held down by someone almost half his size AND a girl at that.

"Well…???" she asked which was obviously a rhetoric question since Sakuragi was in no position to answer.

"Sakuragi…", Haruko whispered. She was getting a bit worried since Hanamichi was almost purple now. She didn't know what to do, though…the new girl was definitely scary. The unflappable coach seemed to find this scene amusing and was chuckling heartily by now.

One of the guys took a hesitant step toward wrestling pair. "Um, Keiko? Maybe you should release Hanamichi now before he runs out of breath. It won't be fun punishing him if he died, right?"  Keiko finally looks down to view her victim and released him. "Oh yeah, we wouldn't want that", she said sarcastically. Then she was laughing and patting Hanamichi rather hard at the back while he desperately tried to fill his lungs with air again. 

Seeing that Hanamichi was recovering (and probably was already plotting her murder), Keiko walked around and inspected the gym. "So what's so great about basketball that you're willing to stay cooped up in this place training and practicing for hours? Honestly, I'm finding it hard to think of you as a team player since brawling seemed to be the favorite _sport_ of the old Sakuragi I know. You must have found a very strong motivation". She turns and looks pointedly at Haruko. 

Sakuragi tries valiantly to hide his blush with a formidable frown but fails. Haruko, as usual, is oblivious to all this and has trouble following the conversation. Keiko walks up to her and introduces herself formally. Haruko nearly jumps in surprise (she was too polite to be frightened at this sudden change in behavior). "Hi. I'm Keiko Toriyama, dozo yoroshiku! I have a feeling that we're gonna be great friends." She smiled sweetly at Haruko who immediately introduced herself in return. Keiko lost no time in chatting her up. Poor Haruko didn't know what she was getting herself into.

"Excuse us for a while, Haruko." Hanamichi was finally able to butt in and determinedly pulled Keiko into a far-off corner of the gym away from the others. "Just what are you trying to do?", he asked suspiciously. Keiko was giggling mischievously. "She doesn't know, does she? You haven't told her yet. Afraid that she'll refuse you like the others? What's the latest count anyway? 50? 60?" She dismisses the dagger-looks that the red-haired giant was sending her way. "Looks like I'm just in time…don't worry. Keiko is back. Hehehe. Leave it all up to me." Her eyes are sparkling like she just found a new mission in life.

"That's what I was afraid of…", Sakuragi replies despondently.

"So tell me, Sakuragi, who's that old man over there? Isn't he a bit too old to be playing with you guys?"

"Hey, give him a little respect! He's our coach, you know! He's training me to become the #1 basketball player in all of Japan." He was about to go into his speech about being a genius when he noticed that Keiko has already left his side. He sweat-dropped when she saw her. 

Keiko already had an arm around the coach and playing with his double chin as only Sakuragi ever dared do…until now.

"Hey coach! If you have any trouble with that numbskull over there just talk to me, ok? The name's Keiko and I'll be sticking around from now on."

The End of Part 1. 

[_This first chapter is already over a week old. Haven't been able to publish since there were some plot issues I had to resolve. Can't say I've solved them all but I hope that whatever booboos I made were only minor ones. I've had this story brewing in my head for months and I liked it too much so I decided to write it; I just hope it turns out ok._]__


	2. Catching Up

**_The drill__: I don't own Slam Dunk or any of its characters, they are the products of Takehiko Inoue's creative mind …I will find me a corner now and bawl my eyes out._**

======================

**CATCHING UP**

The unlikely band of friends was now at the school cafeteria. They've just finished with their snacks. Sakuragi was still stuffing his face with all the food he could get because he was being a pig as usual. He didn't have to pay for it anyway.

"So how come you're here, huh? I would've thought that you'd be skipping this year because of your accident." It finally occurred on Sakuragi to question his friend…in between mouthfuls, of course.

"Well, unlike _some_ people I know, I have been known to use my brain from time to time." She pauses to let that sink in before continuing and smiled as Sakuragi nearly choked at his attempt to voice out his protests. "My parents were able to take me home after a month at the hospital. I was so bored with being cooped up at home with only the physical therapy to occupy me that I actually begged my parents to let me study at home." 

"You who swore to never touch a book even if your life depended on it? Study? Ha! Are your parents aware that they might have brought the wrong girl home from the hospital?" 

Keiko ignored this jibe and continued as if nobody interrupted. "Dad had a talk with the principal and they made the arrangements. I was to study and do all the assignments at home for four months; after which they'd give me special tests and let me come back if I passed them all. So here I am."

"How come you didn't tell us about this? Why all the secrecy? If we'd known we would have planned something to celebrate your return. You know, the usual…an ice cream fest or a tournament at the arcade, or maybe we could try sneaking into the game center again." This was from Mito whose eyes were already glazing over the thought of playing pachinko.

"How could I tell you when it was obvious that you'd forgotten all about me? My so-called friends abandoned me." This was ended with a huff to demonstrate her disappointment.

"Not true! We visited you every week until about 2 months ago. That was when you suddenly got angry and threw all of us out. I distinctly remember you telling us to never come back and bother you again. If it weren't for your mom's updates, we wouldn't have known if you were still alive." Sakuragi has now finished eating and was able to give his full attention to the conversation. Keiko, on the other hand, was keeping quiet…still sulking. "If there was any desertion, it was on your part not ours. So stop laying the blame on us." Hanamichi was obviously getting tired of her accusations. He was also a bit worried about his friend since it has never been her style to play the victim. She'd sooner sock anyone in the head than be called a weakling. 

"Well???" Sakuragi's voice had taken a challenging tone to which Keiko replied with an unusually quiet voice. "It's just that…I didn't want to be disappointed. I wasn't sure that I would be able to…"

"You were afraid that you wouldn't pass the tests??? You should've just asked my help then. Everybody knows I'm the genius around here. Hwahahaha…ulk!!!" This was cut short by the little fact that Keiko had got up in a flash and was slamming her fist on top of Sakuragi's head while kicking his butt. She wasn't really angry, though. She was actually grateful that her friend stopped her from voicing out her worst fears. This was her way of thanking him.

"You nitwit, I have more brains than you could ever dream of…._Hey stop that_…I wouldn't trade brains with you even if they threatened to kill me, you _%#&*!!!...Aw! That hurts…Baka baka baka!...__Hey stop it already, Keiko…" This went on for a while until Haruko ventured to ask a question, she was probably thinking that Sakuragi was getting beaten up quite enough already._

"Um, Keiko…I don't understand. Why didn't you want to see your friends anymore?" Keiko paused at this and decided to go back to her seat but she did not answer immediately. "Were your injuries that bad?"

"Oh, no!, she answered quickly. "Not really. It was just a silly motorcycle accident…of course I was driving when I wasn't supposed to but that's another story. I was just at the hospital for a month and had therapy at home for four months after that. My doctors were quite confident that I…um, I'd be able to walk again. That's why they advised me not to attend classes yet so I could focus on my therapy and heal faster." 

She paused to look over each of her five friends. "I wasn't getting things done with these guys showing up almost everyday so I told them to bugger off."

"She must have been real scared to lash out on her friends like that…", thought Haruko. "I would be if I was in her situation. I think she's kinda sweet, maybe a bit loud but…she's a lot like Sakuragi in some ways. I think I'd like to be her friend, too."

"So…Haruko, what do you think of Sakuragi?"

"Ahh…" Needless to say, she was quite surprised at the sudden change of topic.

"Is he any good?"

"???"

"I'm sure he still has a lot of work to do but, if I know my friend here, he'd be wowing everyone in next to no time. I've never seen him take anything seriously until now." She was deliberately being suggestive, her gaze slowly moving from Sakuragi to Haruko.

"Oh, yes! He's improved a lot, you see. He's really helped the team with his rebounds. He's become a big asset to the team, really." Of course, Sakuragi's face was beaming at this and his ears were getting big with all this praise. 

"Looks like I came back to school just in time. My timing couldn't have been any better." She was secretly smiling at the result of her ploy.

"But Keiko, it's summer vacation", one of the goon squad ventured to comment.

"So?" 

"There aren't any classes yet."

"I know that, dummy! As I said, my timing _couldn't have been any better …" she sits up and throws her arms around the shoulders of the two guys nearest her and addressed everyone around the table. "So…where are we all off to this afternoon? Wanna go to the beach?" _

"Can't…still have to watch today's tapes. You know, the work of a genius is never done."

"Ok, we'll all help then", Keiko answered quickly. She didn't seem to mind not being able to go to the beach at all.

"Hehehe, that's a good idea! Then you can watch him make a fool of himself…the tapes we made yesterday were so funny, I think they'd sell…"

The End of Part 2.

==================

_Sorry this turned out to be so long. I wanted to establish my new character's history, a bit grueling but necessary. I just hope it wasn't too boring.  _

_I REALLY should research the school system in __Japan__ one of these days but I'm too lazy. Still am. I'm making a lot of assumptions here. Could anybody tell me the names of Sakuragi's 4 friends? I only refer to them here as the goon squad. I only caught one of their names…_Mito__,__ I think he's the fat guy with glasses. I'd appreciate it if someone could enlighten me regarding this. It's one of the reasons I'm writing at a snail's pace. What's the usual pacing for chapter updates anyway? Am I gonna get lynched if I update my story once a week? O_o __

_Special thanks to my very first reviewers…I'm glad my story made you laugh._

**_Regus12__—my goal was to make her as bad as Sakuragi…Keiko would be flattered that you think she's much worse, I'm sure)_**

**_pixie-atme__—she's actually named after the killer whale who starred in the movie "free willy" and maybe after the race car driver, too ^_^_**

**_animegurl_05__ and **Zackire**—I can only say that it's basically a HarukoxHanamichi pairing but a lot can and will happen later on. I'm a bit insane enough to put in something on everyone else if I can._**


	3. Getting Started

_Staring at a blank page…I have a nasty summer cold and I can't seem to get any writing done. That's not really the whole problem; I got a bit excited and skipped writing a chapter or two. Now I have to backtrack and deal with a ghastly writer's block laced with a headache. My fault entirely, I know. Sigh._

**_The drill:__ I don't own Slam Dunk or any of its characters, they are the products of Takehiko Inoue's creative mind…I will find me a corner now and bawl my eyes out._**

===================

**GETTING STARTED**

It was well into the afternoon and in the middle of the practice session when she showed up the next day. Before she came, it was rather quiet and peaceful (if you would call having Hanamichi around peaceful). It was just a simple practice session with Hanamichi being assisted by his friends. The goon squad was there. Haruko was there. Coach Hansai has been patiently giving him instructions since morning. All was well until she came. You could feel her presence from how air crackled with a restless energy that either came from excitement or from dread. When she entered a room, the earth could only sigh and brace its self for what happens next. And this is what happens next…

"You're late", Sakuragi said without breaking the rhythm of his jump shots. 

"I didn't know that I had to punch in my time around here. Anyway I was doing my homework."

"Homework?"

"U-huh. I was watching your tapes from the other day, took me the whole morning."

"And?"

"Gosh! Sakuragi, I didn't know the extent of your genius until now!

"What?"

"I don't know how to say this but…you're a real basketball genius! You might just well be the no.1 player in all of Japan right now."

Everyone else kept quiet, a bit confused altogether. The guys, who knew Keiko better, were trying to figure out what she was up to.

This left Hanamichi. He was also confused, he knew those tapes sucked. He even accused the guys of tampering with his tapes since it made him look so stupid. But then again, this was Hanamichi. He was literally incapable of ignoring a compliment, be it true or otherwise.

"Really??? You really think so? I guess, I wasn't doing so bad after all. Hehe, it's about time somebody recognized a genius when they saw one. You know, my jump shots have improved a lot since then. Are you sure you're not"…he turned to look back at Keiko…"jerking me around?", he continued in a small voice. "Dammit Keiko stop that!"

Keiko was now rolling around on the floor in a fit of uncontrollable laughter. "You really fell for it…you're such a _genius_…I can't get over it…Are you sure you're in the right sport?...Your scoring prowess is a real asset I'm sure, _if _they changed the rules and let the team with the lower score win, that is…." She was already pounding the floor with her fists as she could barely contain her amusement.

Hanimichi's face was almost as red as his hair, mostly from embarrassment because Haruko witnessed his humiliation. Another reason was his slowly blazing anger that already had him thinking up ways of torturing his friend before killing her. He decided to retaliate. "Ha! What do you know about basketball? Nothing! Why, you can't even throw a ball straight much less shoot it in the basket."

"Wanna bet?" Keiko was now fully recovered, as if she was just waiting for him to issue the dare. 

"What?"

"Here's the deal, if I can't shoot this ball in that basket over there, I give you my lunch for a month. I know how you love my mom's cooking and all. What do you think?

"Your lunch?"

"U-huh, I'd throw in half of my allowance, too, if you want."

Hanamichi nearly busted an artery trying to compute how much money that would be. Keiko took pity on him and whispered an amount into his ear that made him rub his palms together greedily.

Seeing that he falling for it, she attempted to put an arm around his shoulders to close the deal…it was quite ridiculous, really. Imagine a chipmunk trying that with a giraffe. It simply cannot be done. She made do with patting his nearest shoulder instead.

"So, buddy is that a deal?" 

"Wait a minute, what do you get out of all this???" His suspicious nature, magnified ten-fold especially when dealing with this particular friend of his, finally kicked in. 

"Oooh, nothing much just…", she whispered the rest to his ear.

"B-bbbuh-but…." Hanamichi had suddenly turned red all over.

"It's a win-win situation, don't you think? If you ask me, you're getting the better end of this deal. Me, I'm just looking out for a friend's welfare, doing everything I can to help him with his…a-herm…problem." She said this while looking significantly over where Haruko was.

He was just speechless at his friend's audacity. And Keiko, not one to wait around, took this silence for assent.

"It's a deal then…hey Mito, toss me a ball would you? This can't be as hard as this moron makes it look."

Keiko takes aim to make the shot, throws the ball…everyone waits in baited breath… Keiko gives it everything she's got…the ball flies over the top of the board. 

"I guess I don't know my own strength."

"I win!"

"Not yet."

"Huh?"

"We didn't agree on how many times I could try, did we? I just said that I'll shoot this ball in the basket and that's what I'm gonna do. I'm going to keep on trying…one of them has gotta go in some time soon. Mito! Throw me another ball will you? Keep 'em coming."

Keiko let lose a series of shots, none of then even going anywhere near the ring. After tossing her 18th air ball, she pauses to catch her breath.

"Aren't you giving up yet?"

She shot him a nasty glance before answering. "You want me to win this bet, don't you?

"I … ah…I, um…"

"So shut up and let me concentrate."

She thought to herself, "What did the old fat guy tell that moron about these jump shots again? I can do this, I didn't watch all those tapes for nothing. Ok, first I catch the ball, then bend the knees, and then throw the ball like painting arches in the air. Ok, it seems simple enough…here goes."

She tries again and this time the ball bounced off the board. "Well, that's definitely an improvement…I think I've got it."

"Ok, Sakuragi…this is it. So you don't think I'm a cheat or anything, this'll be my very last attempt. This one's make or break. Ok? These guys are the witnesses, even Haruko and the old man over there." She waved at Coach Hansai acknowledging his presence for the first time since she came in.

"Catch the ball…bend the knees…throw the ball like I was painting arches in the air," she repeated this to herself over and over until she actually went for the shot. It went in.

"Wooohooo! I win! I win! I knew 20 was my lucky number!"

Hanamichi mentally braced himself for the next task he had to face.

*****************************

"So how did it go?" 

It was the night when Haruko and Hanamichi went to the festival. Hanamichi came by Keiko's house afterwards to make a report. 

"I was getting ready to tell her but she slapped me."

"What??? What did you do to her? Did you scare her or something? I told you to tell her how you feel not scare the hell out of her!"

"I didn't do anything to her. It was that damned mosquito on my face. She killed it."

"So what did you do?"

"I ran."

"Eh?"

"I thought she was refusing me like all the others, I couldn't take it so I ran. When I realized it was just a mosquito I ran back and she was already with those girl friends of hers and they were being harassed by some guys. I was getting ready to fight them off when the goon squad arrived scared them off. We all ended up hanging out together after that, I didn't get another chance to get her alone."

"You could still try again, you know. The deal was, if I win, you had to ask Haruko out and tell her how you felt about her. Since she was the one who asked you to the festival then you're still not off the hook. You can try again tomorrow, I'll back you up…"

"Keiko, I know what you're trying to help but thanks anyway. I don't think that its time to tell her yet. Not with her still going starry-eyed whenever she sees that Rukawa. I have to beat that show-off first."

"Who's this Rukawa?"

"Oh, you'll meet him soon enough. Just follow the screaming girls and you'll know it's him. I don't know what they see in him, though. I look way better than him. Besides, he's conceited and acts like he's the greatest basketball player in the world. I'm gonna show him one of these days."

"He sounds hateful."

Hanamichi looks suspiciously at his friend as if trying to assess if she would measure up.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"You're not going to take one look at him and abandon me to join his fan girls, are you?"

"You know my type, what do you think? From your description of him, I don't think he fits the category. Don't worry, we're best friends. I'm sure I'll hate him as much as you do. You can count on me."

The End of Part 3.

=====================

_And the plot thickens…what can Keiko do to help in Sakuragi's personal campaign against Rukawa? Will she eat her words and don one of those cheerleading outfits to join the ranks of Rukawa's silly fan girls? What's her type anyway??? Find out in the next chapter…_

_I just noticed that my chapters are gradually becoming longer. I don't know if this is good or bad. I really have no idea how long this story is going to be. I hadn't even decided what the rating would be when I started this. I guess its turning out to be G…sigh  e_e _


	4. New Girl

**_The drill:__ I don't own Slam Dunk or any of its characters, they are the products of Takehiko Inoue's creative mind…I will find me a corner now and bawl my eyes out._**

======================

**NEW GIRL**

The team was back from the successful joint practice game. They were able to hold their own against the top 8 team from last year's championships—1 win, 1 loss, and 1 draw. This was a good sign for the whole team, they all did their best and proved once again that their team was strong. There was also the small matter of being egged by the thought of Sakuragi taunting them with the claim that they lost because he wasn't there. That was enough encouragement for them all.

It was early morning, they were all back at the school gym ready to start practice though they've only just got back the day before. Most of them were gathered around the gym doors when Akagi arrived. 

"Seems like everyone's excited to resume practice, eh? What are you all doing out here then? Come on, everyone get inside so we can start early." 

"Can't…it's locked," said Rukawa who was the first one to arrive. 

"What's that noise?" By now Akagi was near enough to hear the yelling and scuffling inside.

 "We've been knocking since the last five minutes but they won't open up."

"Hey open up! There better not be any fighting in there or you'll answer to me, you hear? Now, open up before I…" He was banging on the doors when they suddenly slid open, catching him by surprise. He nearly stumbled forward and fell had it not been for the sight of the girl in front of him.

"Gomen! We didn't hear you knock. We were getting everything ready for your return. I guess we were running a bit late." At this she stepped aside and told them to come in. At which everyone was spurned into action and finally got over their momentary shocked immobility. They were amazed at the sight that greeted them.

The five guys, Sakuragi and his team of sidekicks, were running through the length of the court with mops. Everything was so shiny it nearly hurt their eyes to look inside. A general murmur of nani and nandesuka can be heard among the latecomers. 

"Sakuragi! You missed a spot right there…go over there and get it right this time." The guys beside her visibly cringed…she was very loud and quite emphatic. Sakuragi grumbled loudly at this but otherwise did what he was told. The girl now turned back to the people beside her smiling apologetically. Then she switched to a sweet and calm voice. "Sorry about this…we'll be finished in a few minutes."

Haruko then came in rolling in the big crate that contained the basketballs. "Oniichan! I didn't know you were coming in so early today. I see everyone else is here. That's good…you'll cover more ground today. Oh, has everybody met Keiko?" She walked to where Keiko was and started the necessary introductions.

"Minna-san, this is Keiko. She's Sakuragi's best friend and she's been helping out this past week with his training. She planned all this to welcome all of you back from your joint practice game. She's rather sweet, isn't she?" It's a bit uncertain whether they agreed with this last bit given the scene that greeted them a little earlier but they were sure appreciative of her thoughtfulness and thanked her profusely.

"Keiko, this is Ryota…Mitsui…Kogure…" they all gave Keiko a friendly wave in greeting. "…Rukawa," she pauses and, as usual, her cheeks turned pink. Keiko noticed and visibly frowned at this. Rukawa, on the other, acknowledged Keiko's existence with a measly blink to which Keiko just raised an eyebrow. "And this is my older brother." True to form, Akagi immediately introduced himself formally to the new girl to which the girl reciprocated in the same manner. He wasn't able to maintain his formal attitude, however, as he could not contain his curiosity. 

"I didn't know Sakuragi had a best friend…" Keiko immediately launched into a lively (i.e. loud) explanation of her recent arrival but politely glossed over the reasons behind her absence. "…You probably never heard him mention me before because the jerk was preoccupied with his new hobby and conveniently forgot that he ever had a best friend. But that's ok…I've already chewed him out for that, not to mention a few well-aimed kicks and punches."  She grinned. "Don't worry, you'll get no trouble from him when I'm around." She ended proudly. Then she turned around and clapped her hands at her "minions". 

"That's enough guys! Clear everything up so the team could practice right away." Sakuragi dropped his mop while the rest of the guys straightened and each raised a hand in salute to their drill master before proceeding to follow orders. "Hanamichi Sakuragi! What do you think you're doing?"

"Getting some rest before practice. Those guys can do the clearing up…a genius like me shouldn't have to do those things", he answered. 

Keiko marched up to him and a shouting match ensued. "Who told you that you can be exempted???..._Look, I'm a member of the team and as the genius around here…_Genius my *&%$#! Do you want me to show them your tapes so they could see how much of a genius you really are?..._You wouldn't dare!..." _

"Only the red hair seems to be missing." Surprisingly, it was Rukawa who made this observation.

Mito was passing by. He paused when he heard this comment and explained. "Oh, she did have red hair a few months ago. Those two even went to the salon together. I don't know why she let it grow out though."

"A lovers' quarrel already when she's only been back a few days? Tsk tsk tsk. Sakuragi really has a way with women", it was Ryota who made this perilous comment and received a nasty glare for his efforts.

"Hey! I heard that! Even if you offered me a million dollars I wouldn't take this…", she paused to wrack her brain for some nasty word but realized suddenly that Haruko was present and decided to totally abandon  that line of thought. She just smiled. "Anyway, he has never been my type." 

Mito noticed her smiling and followed her line of vision. "Oh-oh. I didn't think she noticed him earlier." He sighed and approached Kogure and said in a condoling tone, "Better get yourself ready…a freak storm is about to come your way."

The End of Part 4.

============

_It's pretty obvious where this story is going, ne? Not necessarily, I might still have a few surprises up my sleeve ^_^_


End file.
